What pens are we carrying today?

[Widebrim]

Sailor, 21K nib. A very thoughtful gift from my room parents. I'm actually hesitant to even ink it...:eusa_doh:

 

[DeaconKC]

Widebrim, use that beauty! Congrats on a classy gift.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Thanks, Deacon. Yeah, I need to bite the bullet and run some ink through her...

 

[Tango Yankee]

^^Thanks, Deacon. Yeah, I need to bite the bullet and run some ink through her...

That is what it is for, after all!!!

 

[Master Mason]

For a starter pen what is the best recommendation for about $100?

 

[John in Covina]

For a starter pen what is the best recommendation for about $100?

Lany Allstar or Vista - modern but a good writer. Pilot usually has some lower end ones like the Knight. in Vintage you can find a variety of refurbished pens for that price. Consider getting a refurbished esterbrook Like a J, Transition or Dollar pen. Check out the threads on Esterbrook.

 

[John in Covina]

Sailor, 21K nib. A very thoughtful gift from my room parents. I'm actually hesitant to even ink it...:eusa_doh:

i have a Sailor the small 1911 what a writer! you will enjoy it!

 

[John in Covina]

Picking pens for the first timer.

Often people that have bought their pens by the gross at the office supply place will have sticker shock when it comes to purchasing a fountain pen. If you are used to spending under a dollar for a disposable ball point a fountain pen, even at the student level will be a
value challenge.

A starter pen for those that are toe-dipping into the experience is a "disposable" fountain pen made by PILOT a fine Japanese firm. Google "Pilot Varsity" and you should find some sources for this relatively inexpensive pen that you can use to get used to the feel of a fountain pen and not cry if you lose it either. These are quite nice to get your foot in the door.

After that, you can look at some of the Student level pens that are well made and are great starters too. Lamy, a German manufacturer makes 2 pens of similar design call the Vista and the Safari Allstar. These can be found in the 30-40 dollar range and offer fine, medium and broad choices for nibs in most stores plus some other nibs thru the big online pen stores.

If you can find a Pelikan M75 or the Pelikan GO! Pens, these are pretty nice but scarce in the USA.
Rotring made a pen called the Core which is very modern but a fine writer and can still be found on the EBay type sites.
A step up is the Pilot Knight at about $50 it is a classic fountain pen and every one I have tried is as smooth as glass.
All of these have steel nibs and are truly serviceable writers.

In vintage you can look for a refurbished Esterbrook. A Parker 45, all of the other brands had some type of inexpensive pens, looking at a Pen store that handle vintage is a start, pen collector club members will have nice pens for sale, you can find some of under a hundred.

New fountain pens climb rapidly in price and the student level goes easily to over $100. All of the big makers from Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer, to smaller newer makers like Laban and Taccia have models in this range.

At about the $150 level you will begin to find pens that are coming with gold nibs and are the next step up. Here your selection
really opens up with a wide variety of makers and designs. As you approach the $200 level you are in the "Real Pen" level, where they will have all of the bells and whistles of filling systems and materials as a standard, but top notch quality pen. As the price climbs from
here the difference tends to be size and/or more precious materials being used. As a word of experience, if you are blessed to have a local pen shop of noteworthy brands offered, you should support them at some point with purchases. Here is where you can test drive
some of the pens you fancy or see that marvelous array of colors the modern ink manufacturers have come up with. A good shop may have a pen repair man to take your vintage finds to for refurbishing. Here you may meet like minded people and learn of local clubs to help you in this wonderful hobby. Ask about pen shows to go to.

Also if you have a big family or some close friends, ask if they have Uncle so an so's fountain pen or grandpa what's his name. Many families have a pen or 2 tucked away somewheres. If they aren't destroyed you can get them fixed / refurbished to write like new. Keep on who ever says they have one, though, as hey never seem to actually get them out to give you.

 

[DeaconKC]

I would add the Pelikan 150 and the Harley Davidson fountain pens on ebay. The HD pens are made by Waterman and are very nice writers. The Pelikan is a piston fill and mine has a very good nib.

 

[Shangas]

Oooh pretty Sailor! Ink it up!

 

[Widebrim]

Oooh pretty Sailor! Ink it up!

I will...

 

[John in Covina]

I forgot about the Noodler's brand pens. they are at about $20.

 

[Master Mason]

I ended up ordeing. Waterman phileas in red kultur. In searching different threads here it was pretty well liked. I've had a cross pen in my pocket for most of my life, but the one fountain pen I had I did not care for much. It's been a while since I used a fountain pen, it i decide I like it, I'll look at some of the better ones or perhaps vintage.

 

[DeaconKC]

You should like the Phileas, they were great pens.

 

[Duke of Buckingham]

I have a Parker 51 that lives in the pocket of whatever jacket I'm wearing at any time. I've got a 51 stub right next to me on my desk as I type. . . I thought 51's were over-hyped until I started writing with one.

Back to the beginner pen question, I'd like to say that, in my experience, the best value in vintage fountain pens are Parker 45 and Parker 21, both of which can be picked up for around $20 on fleabay. The 45 is a workhorse cartridge-filler, but can be fitted with a converter to give more ink choices, and many people say the 21 writes as well as a 51. Just look closely at the pictures for bent barrels. I can also recommend Waterman's Serenity Blue (formerly Florida blue).

 

[David Conwill]

Not carrying it yet, but I just ordered a Noodler's "Red-Orange Piston Fill" off Amazon, along with a bottle of "Rattler Red" ink. Should be good for making notes on documents I'm editing. I also ordered another bottle of Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue to keep feeding my Sheaffer Prelude - I love that stuff.

 

[Master Mason]

So I received my new pen today. It feels good in my hand and the limited writing I have done with it it seems very smooth and nice. My only knock is it very light. I tend to like a more substantial weight.

I'll use it for a while and then decide where to go from here.

 

[DeaconKC]

If you like a little heavier pen, try the Pelikan 215. The size of the 400, but has a metal liner, so it weighs a bit more. Also, the Cross ATX has no snob appeal but a excellent writers and you could probably use it for a tire iron.

 

[Master Mason]

If you like a little heavier pen, try the Pelikan 215. The size of the 400, but has a metal liner, so it weighs a bit more. Also, the Cross ATX has no snob appeal but a excellent writers and you could probably use it for a tire iron.

I have had a cross in my pocket since I was in 8th grade so that might be why. I can't remember the style of cross fountain I used to have, but I do remember it wasn't very smooth, is the ATX better?

 

[Shangas]

Today, I'm mostly using my blue, Venetian glass dip-pen. Looks like this one:

It was a Christmas present from last year. It's surprisingly smooth and writes very well for a glass pen. I like it a lot!